Sales of distressed homes (REO and short sales) fell to their lowest level in seven years and foreclosure inventory dropped by 34 percent year-over-year in December 2014, according to CoreLogic's February 2015 The MarketPulse report released on Tuesday.

As the size of Bank of America's delinquent loans portfolio is shrinking, so is the megabank's workforce – late last week, the bank announced that it was laying off 250 employees from its delinquent mortgage loan division in its headquarters city of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Counsel's Corner is an ongoing series in which DS News talks with default servicing attorneys around the country about the most pressing issues facing the default servicing industry. This installment features Neil Sherman, Vice President and Managing Attorney of Detroit-based law firm Schneiderman & Sherman.

REO liquidations have amassed a higher share of gross unpaid balance (UPB) recovery than short sales since the fourth quarter of 2012, reversing a crisis-years trend, according to Black Knight Financial Services' December 2014 Mortgage Monitor released Monday. As of the end of October 2014, REO sales prices accounted for 71 percent of the corresponding loans' defaulted UPBs, compared to 65 percent for short sales prices, largely due to home price appreciation, according to Black Knight.

Green River Capital (GRC), a Utah-based REO asset management and loss mitigation provider for mortgage servicers, investment firms, and banks, has announced the promotion of two employees to senior vice president positions as well as the hiring of one VP from outside the company.